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Features September 7, 2023

Don’t Give Up

Keep fighting.

That’s the message in the Red-and-White locker room, and although it’s easy to fall into the pit of doom and gloom when sitting at a record of 3-8 – an anomaly to Calgary football fans – the Stamps aren’t giving up.

Calgary pulled off the comeback after falling behind to the Edmonton Elks in the fourth quarter by a 15-point deficit and scored three touchdowns including a two-point conversion to claim provincial bragging rights once more with a 35-31 victory.

The game-winning drive consisted of clutch catches made by veteran receivers Reggie Begelton, Marken Michel and Markeith Ambles, before being capped off by a Dedrick Mills rushing major in which QB Jake Maier ran ahead to make blocks.

“We never got down on ourselves,” said Ambles. “We know we’re a good offence and can explode at any time, so we just kept our heads down and things ended up going our way.”

Five other receivers saw the ball in Monday’s win, and Ambles wasn’t surprised his colleagues were able to step up to the plate in the dying minutes of the game, proclaiming his fellow pass catchers are tops in the CFL.

“I think everybody is a top-tier guy in the league, from the practice roster to the starters, and I think we have one of the top receiving corps in the league, as well.”

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The five-year league vet is in his second stint with the Red and White after signing with the team at the beginning of August. He previously spent four years with Calgary (2018-19, 2021), where he suited up for 29 regular-season games and tallied 117 catches for 1,399 yards and seven touchdowns in that span.

He headed east to Toronto for the 2022 season, where he set career highs with 72 receptions for 737 yards and five touchdowns to help the Boatmen win a championship.

In his return to Calgary, Ambles’ production has nearly doubled each week (23 receiving yards vs. Winnipeg, 43 receiving yards vs. Toronto, 76 receiving yards vs. Edmonton), and the two-time Grey Cup champion is confident his on-field performance will only grow as the season progresses.

“Jake’s a smart quarterback, and he’s not hard to get along with,” he said. “I think the more and more we play (together) the better performances I’ll have.”

With the Labour Day Rematch slated for Saturday at 5 p.m. in Commonwealth Stadium, the team will head out on their northern road trip tomorrow morning.

The Stamps return home to face the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m., following their second bye week of the season. You can get your tickets to the Pink Power game presented by Mayfair Diagnostics, here.